Tomorrow's Wish
by Bumbershoot
Summary: After an akuma-caused accident, Timcanpy is turned human...  and female. No one is quite sure how to react, so the best of the situation must be made. Deeper friendships are forged, new plots unveil, and in the end the memories of life shall decide fate.
1. Chapter 1

A slight wind with a hint of the forbearance of the oncoming cold blew through his clothes as he studied the dark and brilliant sunset. Jet black storm clouds shaded the brilliant hues of orange, gold, pink and violet, dusky blues fading in softly here and there. He shivered, the scent of snow omniscient and invading of the warm memories he had. The warm memories he shouldn't have.

The decision he had to make hung over him, heavier with more silent despair than those storm clouds could ever have. He felt like his whole being might break. Those memories… _Sometimes memories are all that people have left to live on_. He thought, sighing deeply. He turned and looked off into the fogged distance; trying not to dwell on the things he had lost and found. He found himself unsuccessful however, and his mind took him back to that fateful day where it all began…

Unfortunate occurrences seemed to follow the exorcists around like their own personal entourage of rainclouds, and this time was no different. After debunking a particular rambunctious piece of Innocence from a scarecrow with an ax, Allen, Kanda, Krory, Lavi, and Lenalee were, or close to being, asleep on the train that was speeding towards Headquarters. The train car rocked steadily, lulling the weary exorcists to sleep.

A finder by the name of Ian stared out of the window, lost in the luminous darkness of the night sky, which was scattered with stars, the only thing blocking their brilliance silver-tinged rainclouds. He too began to slowly descend into slumber, tired from his day of running and dodging and a close run-in with the Innocence before it had been disassembled from the scarecrow (with the _very_ sharp ax). He had lost his fellow finder in the search for that Innocence and was still stunned with his death. It had happened before, but death was always going to be something that took a long time to get used to unless you were utterly surrounded by it. Ian glanced out the window one last time before his eyelids became too heavy for him to even possibly consider holding them open anymore. He vaguely thought he saw shadows in the distance, but his weary mind brushed it off like the dust the train was leaving in its wake. It was almost his fatal mistake.

In the said distance, six level two akuma were flying at a safe length from the train carrying the exorcists, the unclaimed Innocence's radiance vibrating in their metal skeletons. They had two simple urges: to kill, and to bring the Innocence to their Creator so that he could destroy it. This time was no different.

It was time to attack; the last light in the train compartment the Innocence was in had dimmed over five minutes ago. The akuma's time for glory, or so they hoped, was now. The akuma that looked like a bee cackled gleefully.

"The Innocence is mine! I claim it! I will bring it to the Master and be praised!"

This announcement caused the other akuma to raise a metallic racket of protest, which only silenced when the akuma realized that if they were not quiet, they would wake the exorcists without a doubt. So, now that they were hushed, the akuma split into three groups of two and silently flew to the train. Positions taken, they readied themselves and aimed to fire.

Allen was sleeping restlessly, which finally caused him to jerk awake, perturbed. Something was bothering him, and he could not put his finger on what it was. His mind still fuzzy, he looked around the cabin at his sleeping friends. Lavi had sprawled comfortably in a corner by the window, on the verge of snoring. Krory's head was supported by the wall as he slept, and Lenalee had curled up on the seat between Lavi and the finder Ian, cat –like in her repose. Kanda was sitting as straight and stiff as always, and Allen wondered how he could even sleep like that. Not that he cared much. He yawned, stretching, and went to rub his eyes when he realized what was bothering him.

His cursed left eye had activated and his left arm was tingling in anticipation. Akuma were here. He leapt to his feet; his Innocence already equipped, and yelled "AKUMA!" before he started to aim and fire at the dark shapes outside the window. Everyone jumped to their feet, sleep forgotten in a mad rush, a gentle whirring sound filling the cab as four more sets of Innocence activated.

Almost immediately, the right side of the train car exploded when an akuma grenade hit it, wrenching back the steel and wood and exposing the night sky. Long grayish fingers grasped the torn edges, and an akuma that looked like a _tree_ peered in, then shot a few rounds at random, and disappeared and let the other five akuma go to work. After he had pulled away from the wreckage and he could hear the exorcists' yells as they charged the other akuma, explosions ensuing, he snickered to himself gleefully as he vanished in the night. Those exorcists were going to get a nasty surprise from the time-delayed bullets that he shot, especially since they brought inanimate objects to life.

The battle that followed was quick and decisive, Kanda immediately slicing the first akuma that came into view with Mugen, and Krory grabbing the next one: he was hungry. Lenalee leapt into the air and smashed the flying bee one, a death scream at its throat, and Lavi just gave the one antagonizing him a good whack with his hammer and a satisfactory explosion followed. Allen was about to shoot the humanoid akuma, the last one left, but it grabbed Ian and held a razor that replaced its hand at Ian's neck. Allen could feel his heart stop in his chest, fearing for the finder's life.

"What's a matter little exorcist, don't want to kill your friend here? Well in that case, I'll leave him hear, and be taking," he reached into the finders bag and pulled out the Innocence, "this with me." The akuma cackled gleefully, her voice like razor blades, and she jumped into the air, still holding Ian and the Innocence. As Allen reached out to yell "No!" at the akuma, who had let go of Ian at least thirty feet above the speeding train, Timcanpy shot out of his sleeve and at the akuma. Opening his mouth wide, he plucked the Innocence from the demon's hand, swallowing it, and sped back towards the train before the demon had any idea what was going on. Lenalee burst from the train, catching Ian, and Allen shot at the now enraged akuma, killing it.

He turned to Ian, whom Lenalee had placed safely back on the train. "Are you alright?" he asked, concern shadowing his voice as he deactivated his Innocence.

"Yes, I am, just a bit shaken…" was Ian's steady, but weak, reply. He sat down, Lenalee handing him a canteen of water.

Kanda scoffed at Allen, disgruntled because that infernal _Beansprout_ had almost let a demon run away with the Innocence that was so direly needed. He turned and went to the part of the train that had not been destroyed to go back to sleep. Stupid _Moyashi_.

Allen laughed a little uneasily, plunking down on the ground next to Tim, still tired and very hungry from their previous fight for the Innocence.

"Well Timcanpy, thanks to you, we still have the Innocence and Ian with us." He said, smiling, as he patted the little golden golem. Tim fluttered his wings happily in response.

"Oi, Allen," Lavi yawned mightily, "It's a good thing you brought him this time, eh? Maybe next time—" Lavi was cut off as an explosion filled the air and three more followed. The bullets that the tree akuma had shot just detonated, filling the air with purple smoke.

"Bloody hel—" Lavi was cut off again as the coat rack proceeded to try and strangle him. Allen had been thrown sideways in one of the explosions; one of the grenades had been right next to him. He jumped to his feet, rushing to Lavi's aid as Lenalee smashed a bench that had been trying to attack her. Kanda had already sliced through the remaining furniture before it could jump to life. Ian looked scared, but he helped Allen disentangle Lavi from the coat rack before Mugen came out of nowhere and sliced the offending length of mahogany wood in half, purple sparks fading from the fatal cut.

"Lavi, are you okay?" Lenalee asked, fanning at the smoke that was just beginning to clear.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just wonder where that came from… Perhaps it was that first akuma. This is the first time I've heard or seen of any demon's weapon being able to do this kind of thing. Allen, what's wrong?" Lavi hurried over to Allen when he saw his friend's complexion go ashen.

"T-T-Timcanpy…" he stuttered weakly, pointing at the golem. Tim had his wings wrapped around himself, tucked in the corner of the train, glowing luminously. He was shivering, the purple haze gathered around him like a blanket, the Innocence he had swallowed flaring through his now transparent body. An empty shell that had once been the akuma's bullet lay discarded besides him. Kanda, Ian, and Lenalee came over to see what was going on, shock beginning to appear on their faces.

"Tim…?" Lenalee ventured, her eyes widening as the little golem began to shudder more violently and glow even brighter. Suddenly Timcanpy fell on his face, violent spasms rocking the tiny round body, and Allen made to move and catch him but an extremely intense flare of light caused him and everyone else to fall back. A low sound, like a subsonic boom, echoed away from the general area Tim was in, rocking the train car.

Allen opened his eyes slowly, his vision still spotted from the flare up. Blinking back the spots, he pushed himself up and went to go to Timcanpy. But Timcanpy wasn't there anymore. In his place was a girl with golden wings wrapped around her shivering form, covering her body. Golden hair cascaded down her back, and a golden band encircled each wrist and ankle. The tail of a long whip that was wrapped around her waist poked out from the feathers, also gold, but more pearlescent. Allen's mind reared back in surprise and embarrassment, for she wasn't wearing any clothes, but it was steady enough to ask one thing:

"Timcanpy? Is that you?" Gold eyes opened up slowly at him, on the verge of tears and shaking, and one, single, almost invisible nod shocked every exorcist and the finder in the train car.

"Komui." Kanda's voice could be heard in the background behind the roaring in Allen's ears. "We have a situation."


	2. Chapter 2

After the initial shock wore off, Lenalee's overdrive kicked in and she shooed the boys from the car, very conscious of the embarrassed young woman in front of her. When they protested (Allen would say something stupid like "Tim is my golem though!") Lenalee gave them a firm verbal tirade of the fact that poor Timcanpy had nothing to wear, and she wasn't male anymore, so they needed to **leave**, **now**, before they made Timcanpy any more uncomfortable than she already was. After Lenalee made her point everyone was tripping over each other trying to get to the door first.

Lenalee watched the door click shut with a sigh before she turned to Timcanpy, still shivering in the corner, exactly the same way she had been when she transformed. Lenalee's mind was still reeling from the incident, but right now someone else had greater needs than the worries of her mind, so Lenalee found her (thankfully) still intact suitcase and pulled out one of her more ragged over –dresses and a shift that had always been slightly too big for her. Finding a needle, thread, and scissors, she turned to the quaking girl.

"Timcanpy, do you think you could put this on?" she held up the shift, which luckily enough, had a sloping backline that would allow room for Timcanpy's wings without having to alter it. Timcanpy nodded and timidly reached for the shift that Lenalee held out, her eyes wide as she watched her fingers grasp the soft fabric. Lenalee turned around to give the girl some privacy while she careful cut two parallel lines in the back of her old over-dress. She could hear Timcanpy's wings rustle softly as she put on the cream dress. Lenalee heard quiet unsteady footsteps as Timcanpy walked towards her. Turning slowly to the poor girl so as not to scare her, Lenalee asked her if it fit. Tim nodded, smoothing her hands over the material. Lenalee was surprised to see that Tim had a rather shapely figure and was not as flat planed as she was herself. If the shift was any smaller it would have not fit Tim properly.

While Lenalee finished up altering her over-dress, Tim fiddled with the whip that had most likely once been her tail. She had unwound it from her midsection and was wondering what in the world it was for. She looked up at Lenalee, wondering if she should ask, but she decided not to bother the exorcist. This was all so strange… Timcanpy really did not know what to think. One moment she had been a golem who had spent almost every waking moment with Allen, and now she was, dare she say, human? Or was she something else? Wings certainly were not human.

Her mind wandered back to Allen, and when she realized he wasn't there, which made her uneasy, she stood suddenly, surprising Lenalee.

"Timcanpy, what's wrong dear?" Lenalee said, alarmed.

"A…Allen?" Timcanpy ventured unsteadily, she had never spoken before. Lenalee looked slightly surprised to hear Tim's voice, which was more bell-like and harmonious due to the fact she spoke a few octaves deeper than Lenalee.

Lenalee smiled before replying, "Don't worry, Allen is nearby. He wouldn't leave you here all alone, you know Allen."

"Oh… okay. Good…" Timcanpy began fidgeting again, unsure of what to do with herself. Lenalee finished the rough set of holes on the back of the over-dress and turned to Timcanpy.

"Would you like me to help you put this on?" she asked thoughtfully, since one, Timcanpy had never worn clothes before, and two, wings weren't going to make putting the dress on any easier. Hopefully the Order would have something made for Timcanpy that would be easy for her to put on by herself, and made to fit her body. Lenalee's over-dresses were naturally made slightly bigger than they were supposed to be so she could wear them over her exorcist uniform comfortably, and in this case, it was a lucky thing for Timcanpy.

Timcanpy nodded, "Yes, please." They decided the best method was to pull it carefully over her wings first and then situate her arms and do the front of the dress up. After the ordeal was over, Lenalee stood back to check her work.

"Well, it's a bit rough around the edges, but we are only a few hours from the Order. Johnny may have something for you by morning if you're lucky." She said, smiling. Timcanpy smiled back, and then jumped as someone knocked on the door. Lenalee walked over quickly and slid it open to reveal an anxious looking Allen, a curious Lavi, a nervous Krory, and a bored Kanda. Ian followed behind, looking tired and worn out. Allen cautiously made his way near Timcanpy, noting, to his slight displeasure, she was at least a half inch taller than him barefoot. He stopped by her, and he couldn't help but stare, as everyone else was but Lenalee and Ian, who was already asleep. She was really quite beautiful, and he noticed she had thick but small gold bands through her ears; it didn't look like she could take them out. He finally took a jittery breath, and looked directly into those discerning gold eyes.

"Timcanpy?"

"Yes?" was the nervous reply. Allen (and everyone but Lenalee and Ian) jumped a little. Allen looked down at the floor momentarily, and then back up to Timcanpy.

"Tim… is that really you?"

"Um, I'm pretty sure. I don't know who else I could be otherwise." It was her turn to look down at the floor nervously while twiddling with her bullwhip. She peeked back up just as Allen yelled, "Oh Tim! I thought you were a goner!" and she was smothered in a massive hug. Upon contact Timcanpy was so surprised she _squeaked_ out loud, a bewildered expression on her face, her wings flapping a little indignantly. She could barely see Lavi and Krory through Allen's mop of white hair, but she did hear them say,

"Did you hear that Krory? She squeaked… that was so…"

"…Cute." Krory finished, looking a bit closer to surprised rather than nervous now. Kanda just made a _tching_ noise and found a seat to sit in.

Tim didn't really know what to do with Allen hugging her, but she was pretty certain he was crying. This confused her.

"Um, Allen," Lenalee's voice rang out, "I think you're smothering Timcanpy…"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." He apologized, wiping his eyes with his sleeve, his ears turning red. "Would you like to sit down?" he asked, gesturing to a bench that had not yet been destroyed. Tim nodded weakly and followed Allen. After they sat down, Timcanpy turned to Allen and asked him why he was sad.

"Well," he said, actually blushing this time, "When you were hit by the akuma grenade I thought you were going to explode, or do something similar, because you had the Innocence inside of you and I really did not know how it was going to react. It was a devilish piece of crystal anyways, so anything could have happened.

"I certainly did not expect this… although I am quite happy you are alive. If you had died, I wouldn't have known what to do without you, and then Master would probably kill me, and then bring me back from the dead to kill me a second time because he got bored."

Timcanpy nodded thoughtfully. "He would do that. I wonder how he'll react to all of this… I'm not sure I'm going to know how to act around him now. I don't really know how to act at all as a matter of fact. I'm not even sure what in the world is going on." Timcanpy leaned forward, and put her head in her hands. "Life was so much simpler as a golem."

The train had dropped them off at the Black Order Headquarters sometime in the very early moments of dawn. Timcanpy stumbled after the entourage of equally tired exorcists, Ian close behind her. It was going to be a long day. She knew from her hazy memories as a golem that Allen, on his first day, had been subjected to Hevlaska, and then Komui to fix his arm. He had a tour of the used part of Headquarters and the Science Department, and he had to meet everyone as well. Tim had to do this too, only she was a lot smaller and a lot different then. This was going to be slightly unusual.

Upon reaching the giant doors underground, everyone got out of the boats and made their way down the hall and up to the expectant Komui. Dread filling her, Timcanpy's wings began to become agitated because she was so nervous. Little eddies of wind whirled down her back and flared out the back of her skirt slightly as they walked up the last flight of stairs. Allen gave her a reassuring smile, as did Lenalee and Krory. Kanda ignored her, but she expected that, and she suspected Ian was too tired to really care.

They finally reached the top step, and Timcanpy's hands were shaking so badly she had to clasp them in front of her. She was really not looking forward to the tests that were unavoidably about to ensue. Komui stood in the center of the floor, the science team flanking him.

"Lenalee!" he cried happily, bounding over to his sister and giving her a bone-crushing hug.

"Brother…" she began, a tired warning tone in her voice.

"Oh! Oh, yes, yes yes!" Komui twirled around to face Timcanpy. "Timcanpy! How extraordinary!" He began circling her, inspecting her, and was very interested in her wings. "Amazing…" he muttered to himself. Lenalee cleared her throat and made Komui jump to attention again.

"Right! Miss Timcanpy, would you follow me please? And by the way, what's it like to have wings?" He held his arm out to her, in a slight bow. Tim was a little surprised with the flattery, but she took his arm tentatively. They began to walk towards the science wing, but Tim stopped. Komui gave her a questioning look.

"Um, is it okay if Allen comes along? I mean, that is, if he wouldn't mind." She asked, glancing back at Allen. Komui gave his ascent and Allen nodded cheerfully. It meant he would have to wait longer to get something to eat, but he understood her worry and besides, she had recently been his possession… It was a strange thing to think about, but he refused to own a person so he considered Timcanpy her own free being now. Whether or not General Cross thought the same thing was a different, slightly scary, matter. These thoughts echoing in his head, he followed the Science department back to the Science Wing.

Reaching the double doors, Komui turned to Timcanpy.

"Now Tim, I can call you Tim, right? You know we have to let Hevlaska examine you because you still have some form of that Innocence you saved with you. Kanda informed me you had a… bullwhip? That could be a potential anti-akuma weapon, so you will be subjected to the same thing exorcists go through, and we'll go from there. She's also going to look at your wings and why you still possibly have them. Is this all okay?" Timcanpy nodded to it all, steeling herself for what she hoped was a mostly painless procedure. The giant doors creaked open, the ominous shadows punctuated with a pure white light that came from Hevlaska when she was not examining Innocence.

Tim walked up to the platform alone, her heart thudding slightly painfully in her chest. Her bare feet felt cold on the stone floor, making her clammy. Hevlaska loomed into view, stooping down to see Timcanpy.

"My, how you have changed as of late, Timcanpy. You look well though. This is good. Would you please step up?" Hevlaska held out a glowing opaque hand, gesturing kindly. Tim took a deep breath, and climbed up on Hevlaska's almost completely see-through limb. As soon as she was firmly seated, Hevlaska raised her up and began to surround her with her many arms.

Tim's skin, wings, and whip began glowing an eerie green, the color that normally accompanied Innocence. She could hear and fell Hevlaska humming beneath her, contemplating the conundrum she held. Tim tried to peer out of the veil-like material of Hevlaska's arms to see if she could discern Allen, but she couldn't. It was soon after that the humming began to reach her, and Timcanpy realized that this was Hevlaska searching for the Innocence. The pain began almost immediately after her realization. It felt like her whole being was being shaken apart. A silent scream echoed from her lips as she fell to her knees, her wings searing and actually smoldering. Her heart began to race, and her mind grew cold and numb, icy spears shooting down her spine. Fingers and toes throbbing, she scratched weakly at Hevlaska, unable to speak or even see; her vision had gone completely white. Arcs of fire ran through her, causing her body to contort and make grotesque shapes. The needling of her skin and organs began after this, stabbing her whole body, especially her wings. Timcanpy soon became unconscious from the amount of sensations that tore at her body. Unfortunately, she would remember every minute of it.


	3. Chapter 3

When Timcanpy awoke, it was not where she last remembered. She was in a bed; the white sheets and comforter glaring starkly back at her. Blinking away the sleep still in her eyes slowly, she came gradually to her senses. Her whole body ached dully, including her wings. She flinched when her memories of the testing came back to her. That didn't go so well.

Pushing these unpleasant thoughts aside, Timcanpy took stock of her surroundings. She was lying on her side in one of the standard sleeping quarters of the exorcists and everyone else at Headquarters. The walls were a light shade of gray, the floor stone, and there was one window perched in the wall. Sitting up slowly, Tim could also see that there was a desk, chair, dresser, nightstand, and a wardrobe. On the desk was a small vase with a few flowers in it, a note underneath it, and a parcel wrapped in brown paper. Next to the chair a pair of brown leather boots stood, simple and plain. They had a small heel and quite the tread from what she could see.

Tim gently swung her legs off the bed, and was surprised to see that the bands that encircled each wrist and ankle were still glowing green. It was very weak, but the gentle pulsations could be seen if Timcanpy looked close enough. She shrugged to herself, as she didn't really know why the Innocence would be doing this. Putting her bare feet on the cold floor, she pushed the covers aside and saw she was wearing a white dress that had little straps and it barely came to her knees. Lenalee must have found clothes for her to wear. Timcanpy made a mental note to thank her later.

Standing up carefully, her joints and ligaments cracking, Timcanpy stretched, grimacing slightly at the popping. She remembered Allen used to do this every morning, as well as a few things like push ups to get his blood flowing so he could feel awake. She stretched out her wings to the side fully, the tendons cracking gently, and it felt wonderful. She wanted to give them a few customary flaps but she knew it would be detrimental to her new room seeing as they barely fit extended out as they were. It was going to be interesting getting around the Order now.

Stretching complete, Tim shuffled over to the desk, shivering slightly and yawning mightily. Under the vase, which was full of different color daisies, she pulled out the note, which was folded in half. Unfolding it, Komui's handwriting jumped out at her. This was interesting because he tried to write (mostly his name) as little as possible. _Timcanpy_, it said, _I hope you wake up feeling well and that you like the clothes that Lenalee had Johnny tailor for you. She also found the boots for you, they were in storage. After you are dressed and awake, would you please come down to the dining hall? We would like to discuss what Hevlaska found over breakfast. Bring that lovely bullwhip with you too; it's an interesting piece of equipment. All the best, Komui Lee_.

Timcanpy put the note down nodding thoughtfully. Picking up the parcel, she unwrapped it to reveal its contents. Inside was a folded up dress made of a soft yet sturdy warm creamy brown fabric. She shrugged off the nightdress and began to put the dress on. The top part of the back had lacing on it so she could fit her wings in easily. Pleased with Lenalee's thoughtfulness, Timcanpy smoothed her hands down the soft fabric. She pulled on the white stockings that were with it and then the boots. The boots were very comfortable; they felt like they were made for her feet. They came up to just below her knees, and the dress' hem came a little past that to about the top of her calves. There had also been a pair of what looked like shorts that Tim put on before the dress. She assumed she had those for flying so she didn't embarrass herself.

Whirling around playfully, Timcanpy was surprised to see a mirror hanging from the back of the door. Walking up to it apprehensively, she got to see what she really looked like now. Her long golden hair was wavy and the color of sunlight shining through honey; it was a very deep color, almost brown. Her skin was tan, which was nice, and her eyes were a sparkling gold. She was surprised to see that she was a little curvy, but then an again a golem can hitch a ride on anybody if it wants too. She touched the loops in her ears softly; she didn't know they were there. Her wings loomed behind her, also a shade of gold. The dress she wore accented this with its warm coloring. It had sleeves that came down just above her elbows, exposing her forearms since it was still summer. The square neckline was convenient for movements, and the white insert in the front of the dress had little pleats, dressing it up at little so it did not appear to be so plain. The simple cut fit her well, and she loved the full skirt. Tying her hair up so it didn't fall in her face and grabbing her bullwhip, its weight comforting, Timcanpy opened the door to go to breakfast with Komui.

She found that she was on the same floor that the exorcists resided, the round hallway familiar to her. She closed her door and saw she was in room 642. Nodding to herself, she walked to the railing, stretching her wings out some more. Looking over the edge, she saw that no one was out and about. Timcanpy grinned mischievously. The stairs weren't too far away, but why should she take the stairs if she could fly? Climbing up on the railing and holding tight to her whip, she spread her wings, and then leapt into space. The air tumbled around her as she held, suspended for a moment, before she began her decent down. Diving head first, the exhilaration riding through her, Tim flapped her wings mightily, increasing her acceleration. Grinning madly she saw people on the bottom floor scrambling around, yelling something. This might actually be fun.

Sadly, she had to pull up, the air filling and tugging at her wings. Slowing down, she righted herself with her feet pointing at the floor, her dress flaring out dramatically. Thank goodness for those shorts. She landed suddenly, her legs spread, one hand on the ground for balance, and the other up in the air. She could feel a wave of air roll off of her; she didn't realize she had been going that fast. Looking up, tendrils of hair falling into her face, she could see shocked faces staring back at her from the dining tables.

"Um… good morning?" She said nervously, standing up, flapping her wings and then settling them down comfortably. Nobody's expression changed. She could see Allen sitting with Lavi in the distance, Krory too. Allen just looked shocked while somebody needed to pick Lavi's jaw up for him, and Krory looked like he just might faint. Timcanpy could feel her face turn red, but was saved when a flabbergasted Komui came up to take her to the table he had set aside.

Upon reaching the table, Komui fluttered his hands nervously, gesturing for her to sit down at the table, which had two chairs across from each other, a set up of bread and milk with cheese, jam, butter, eggs, bacon, and a pitcher of juice. It was the general European breakfast set up. Tim sat down, smoothing her skirt. She did not see Lenalee when she walked into the Hall, and she wondered for a brief moment where she could be at before turning her attention to Komui. After he had settled down as well, he motioned for her to begin eating.

She did, and Timcanpy found herself to be quiet ravenous. She ate more than she thought she could, but she attributed that to her wings probably required more energy than the average human, and as a golem she couldn't eat much due to her small size then. After Komui was finished as well, he looked up at her. She put her hands in her lap, quaking slightly, she had no idea what he was about to say of the results of the testing.

"Timcanpy," Komui began, "You are a very interesting conundrum."

"Why is that?"

"Well, you do have Innocence like the exorcists, but not in the same sense. Hevlaska found that the Innocence helps comprise your entire being. In essence, you are made of the Innocence. It is not your life force, just part of your body. It supports your wings; it is what makes it possible for you to have them and use them. For some reason the Innocence is compliant with being part of you and is not reacting negatively at all, and frankly, it has Hevlaska and I stumped. We have no idea why it formed itself into a separate anti-akuma weapon either: your whip. Hevlaska says that it is not really a traditional weapon though; it is more for defense than offense like everyone else's Innocence. "

Komui stopped there to let it sink in for Timcanpy. She pondered on it, and decided it all made sense, for as bizarre as it was. She told this to Komui, then asked,

"How long will it last?" Komui looked puzzled. Tim reiterated, "How long will I stay like this? Not that I mind at all, I really like it so far, but will the Innocence stay with me forever or revert back to its original form eventually?" Komui looked thoughtful for a minute.

"Well, to be honest with you, I don't know. Hevlaska wondered the same thing but she could not discern anything of it. I suppose time will tell. But, for the meantime, we would like to take you to the training grounds and test out your whip's ability if that is fine with you."

Timcanpy nodded. "Of course. When shall we start with that? And may I ask about the whereabouts of Lenalee? I would like to thank her; she's been terribly helpful…"

It was Komui's turn to nod. "The Science Department and I would like to start as soon as possible, so right after breakfast was planned for testing. As for Lenalee, she is still out and about making sure you are taken care of with all the accommodations you need. She has really taken an interest in your well being, that's for certain." This comment made Timcanpy feel warm inside as Komui stood and gestured for her to follow him.

Trotting along the hallways to the training arena, Timcanpy felt herself relax a bit; these were the halls that she knew, she was comfortable here. All the people here were the same, the only thing that had changed was their perspective of her, and as far as Tim could tell, they were taking the idea of her as she was now very well and quite happily. It was in fact a relief. Things might be a bit rough in the beginning, but hopefully it would smooth out with time. The thoughts of this soothed her further, and Timcanpy began to tune back into Komui's ramblings as they walked.

"… And I have this marvelous, let me tell you, _marvelous_, plan for a Komurin 4! It will certainly be a success! The Science Department will truly see it is genius! It will be a crowning moment…. Anyway, back to the testing. We just want to run you through some basics, see your extent of ability, and the like. Hevlaska said your synchronization rate was rather good considering, being at a nice 78 percent. That's nothing to turn your nose up at, so we decided to set you up against some level one decoys and one level two, of course in progression so as not to overwhelm you."

Timcanpy nodded, this was reasonable. She opened the door to the training arena, surprising Komui by letting him enter first. He beamed and made a remark about how Allen's courtesy must have rubbed off on her before trotting over to the panel of mixed scientist to observe Timcanpy.

Reever waved to Timcanpy from halfway across the massive circular room, gesturing for her to come on over. Timcanpy obliged, and rather than walk, she took off from a standstill, taking advantage of the gigantically tall ceiling and the distance between them. Within two wing flaps she was in landing range, so she flared her wings gracefully and landed running, coming to a standstill by Reever, cheeks pink and slightly out of breath.

Reever's eyebrows were raised comically, but he made no comment and gave her a small, amused smile, his eyes twinkling, as he pointed to a target set up about ten feet away from them.

"The purpose of that target," he began, a chuckle edging his voice, "Is for you to hit with your whip's tip. We are hopeful you naturally know how to use it since it was 'born' with you, if you will, and be able to do basic functions and moves with it. Clear?" he finished, smiling fully now.

"Clear." Timcanpy confirmed, smiling herself. She had always liked the Science Department; they were such a cheerful hard working lot.

Reever turned with a nod and began trotting back to the panel to watch, so Tim unwound her whip and began to warm it up by running her hand up and down the braided pearlescent gold length. Seeing that Reever had made it back and was now attentive, along with the rest of the crew, Timcanpy rotated her right shoulder a bit to loosen it up. She didn't know why she did it, it just felt natural. After being sufficiently warmed up, Tim took a deep, steady breath, pulled her wings in as close as she could, placd one foot forward and coiled her arm back, tension rising, until she felt the moment was right. She flung her arm forward, almost in a circular motion off to her side, the momentum from the tension in her arm and the force she exerted on the bullwhip rising until her arm was almost in front of her, where she flicked her wrist just so, transferring all the gathered energy to the whip. It whistled through the air and with a resounding _CRACK_ hit the target, taking a chunk out of it and sending it flying backwards.

Timcanpy could feel herself smiling mightily, adrenalin running through her, as she gently tugged the whip back to her. She turned to the scientists to find some of them staring, others grinning, and a few chuckling. Not sure what to make of their reaction, Tim looked at Reever and Komui for direction. The gestured for her to keep practicing, even though she had knocked over the target. She complied.

After ten more tries with the whip, Timcanpy's arm was beginning to shake. She tried wiggling it out but it did not help as much as she hoped. Massaging the sore muscle, she decided that it was best to attempt switching arms. Grasping the slightly textured handle, Timcanpy smoothed the whip across the ground to get used to the weight in her left hand. It was comforting. Stepping forward and winding up again, Tim let the whip loose. It definitely did not feel the same as using her right arm, and to prove it, the tip of the ten foot long whip barely licked the end of her nose, only scant inches away. Timcanpy gulped, icy tendrils of adrenalin spiking through her and running down her backbone in cold shivers. That was scary, and she most certainly needed more practice.

Eyes wide, she looked back at the Science crew, shrugging slightly. Reever caught her surprised look and yelled out to her, "That was a good round Timcanpy! Let's move to the second half of the training area!"

Timcanpy took off again, her bullwhip trailing behind her. As she neared the second half of the arena, she could see that the Science Department had retracted the better part of the round roof to expose it to the elements. Several hulking metal balloons hung from the ceiling right before the opening. Curious, Timcanpy flew right up to one, inspecting it. After looking at the rough shapes, she turned to look down on Reever.

"Are these akuma decoys?" She yelled down to him. He grinned up at her before replying.

"Yes they are! You've got a sharp eye, girl. We calculated the approximate size, density, and thickness of the metal that makes up an akuma, level one, mind you, and had these little blighters formed. They're good for beginners to practice on. If you would, go on ahead and activate your Innocence and take a few good whacks at them, see what you can do." Tim nodded and flew back a few feet, curious as to how she was going to use her whip while flying.

After sorting herself out a bit, she discovered if she flapped up at the same time she cracked the whip, it would have the desired effect. She just had to be careful and mind her wings. Lining herself up with the first decoy, Tim closed her eyes and breathed deeply, searching for the presence of the Innocence. Gradually, it came to her, and true to Hevlaska's data, it was everywhere. So Tim focused on her right hand, and after she had grasped that quite well, what her hand was holding.

It was like a burst of cold air when she found her whip. Icy blues and greens blossomed across her closed eyelids, and she felt a little dazed. Struggling to maintain her aerial situation, Timcanpy breathed in deeply again and concentrated on the form of the Innocence in her bullwhip. Soon, the rush faded, and she was able to gain control again. _Activate_, she thought, directing her stream of consciousness to the weapon. Her hand began to warm, and a glowing permeated the cracks in her eyelids.

Opening her eyes slowly, Tim looked down at the Innocence in her hand. It gave a soft gold glow, the end of the whip glowing more green, however. Tim nodded to herself before directing her attention back at the target. _Here goes nothing!_ She thought before winding back and striking. The whip flashed through the air, lighting quick, smashing into the target with a small _boom_, cracking the great hull. Undeterred, Timcanpy drew back and struck again, this time the metal balloon cracking all the way through.

As soon as the half that was no longer connected to the ceiling began to tilt and fall, a small explosion shook the inside o f the decoy. This caused the loose half to fly off, crashing to the ground below, the burned remains spinning slowly on the ceiling, reflecting back gray light from the rain cloud-ridden sky.

Timcanpy blinked. She hadn't expected it to actually _explode_. She looked down at the Science Department; they were cheering and yelling about something working. Tim could only assume they meant the explosion, so she moved on the next two metal decoys, sending them whirling, shattering, and giving off a nice pyrotechnic display.

After the dust had settled, Komui yelled up to Timcanpy.

"Very well done! Quite a show, you're doing quite well for a beginner! Come on out into the open next, we want you to dodge these clay disks we shoot at you. This is to simulate akuma bullets, and you can stow your whip for this, you won't need it."

Timcanpy wrapped her bullwhip around her waist snuggly, then surged off to the open air, soaring upward, spiraling at the freedom her wings gave her. She felt alive. This freedom, this movement… it made her soul at ease. She could fly forever into the never-ending skies.

A metallic clanking sound brought Tim out of her reverie, and she barely dodged a disk flying straight at her. The clanking continued, and now that Tim was on complete alert, she was able to dodge the next few projectiles with ease.

Soon though, however, a clanking was coming from her right, as well as the one already below her. Two clay disks were making a beeline for her from two different directions. Tim froze for a moment, unsure of what to do, before instinct took over and she flipped out of the way. This enlivened the people below her, and soon enough, clanking and grinding and the whistling of projectiles began to reverberate through the air.

The instinct thing had worked the first time, so Timcanpy let her senses take over. She began to speed around the arena, banking on a hard left, the wind tearing at her wings, making her tendons strain and pop beautifully. Flapping mightily, the force making her eyes water, Tim lunged forward, then arced downward, tucking her wings in, and wove at an ever increasing speed through the almost invisible bullets. Her hair ripping back from her skull, tie lost, and her dress waving against her body, Tim could honestly say this was the fastest she had ever flown… yet. A bit of a wicked grin graced her lips as she neared the ground. Now it was time for the fun to begin.

Angling herself, Timcanpy clamped her wings to her even more tightly, subconsciously dodging a spiraling disk that had flown off course. She could see the panicked scientists scatter as she was almost upon them, but at the last moment, she snapped open her wings, their full range being revealed, as she curved up and away, higher and higher.

Exhilaration began to take over as time wore on. Yes, Timcanpy was beginning to tire, but this... this was beautiful. This is what she was born to do. Pushing herself higher and higher, mindlessly evading disks now, Tim soon found herself out of range. She paused for a moment, banking on a cold wind, her skin prickling at the icy air. Observing the situation below her, she could see that the scientist had stopped firing disks when they realized she was out of range. They were scampering around, dancing… or something. Tim squinted, unsure of what they were doing. It was only after the terrific thunderclap above her that she realized they were frantic and trying to wave her down.

Fear flowed like lightning through Timcanpy's veins, a gasp escaping her lips when another thunderclap followed the first. Then the rain hit her. It was like liquid ice, coating her and soaking her through immediately. Without delay, she flipped and began to fly downward, beating her wings through the rain-drenched air.

Her breath coming in shallow gasps, and her mind reeling in panic, she tumbled when a terribly strong wind hit her, along with an even more intense torrential sheet of rain, at least three hundred feet from the ground. She was falling now, the wind whipping her dress, tangling it with her legs, and her hair stuck to her neck and face, obscuring her vision. Timcanpy tried righting herself with a few flaps of her wings, but to her horror, she could not catch the air under them. The feathers had been completely drenched, rendering them useless and overly heavy. Fear blanketed her, her heart beating so fast it felt it would burst, a wordless scream bursting forth from her throat as she realized she was falling and there was no way she could stop.

**A/N:**

**Whew. Lotsa writing. But not really, I have seen much more in one chapter, and I feel bad for not being able to put in more per chapter, but that will have to wait until the story progresses. Sorry for the late update (I would like to try updating once a week, and when things are more hectic, once every 2 weeks.) Sorry for leaving you guys with a cliff hanger, but I had things to discuss with my unofficial beta fyrearth. She deserves a cookie for putting up with me, **_**I looooooovvvvveeeee you dear!**_** Yes. On with the show, thank you so much for the reviews! I really appreciated them, they are great feedback for what I need to do better, and what I am doing well, and the burning deep question that are left spinning in the wake of reading this… haha not really. Just messing with you. But I am still SUPER thankful! :DD So stay tuned kiddos, I'm on the start of Chapter 4! Woot! And thanks for reading! **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'M SO SORRY GUYS! D: I didn't update for… ever…. I don't even know how long. I'm such an awful person… *feels super crummy* Anyway, I'm sorry this is a really short update, It really could be lots longer, but I was getting over a writer's block (**_**awesome**_** timing, lemme tell ya) and college has been keeping me super busy and run-down as usual. Poo. I've been so busy trying to divide time between school, sewing commissions, drawing/art, and writing that I'm just about to fall over dead. I **_**so**_** cannot wait for Christmas break. I'm gonna love my animals and write and relax with some occasional art/sewing. It's gonna be epic. Oh yes. Anyway, sorry for the stupidly long author's note/whining and on with the show!**

**By the way I don't own DGM or this would totally happen along with some mushy stuff 'cause I don't think there is enough! XD**

Limbs and wings flailing in the torrential sheets of rain, Timcanpy spiraled out of control. A sense of hopelessness encased her; she had just stumbled on this new way of life, and now it was going to end. She still tried to slow her descent, but her wings were being flung about painfully. There was no way she was going to catch the air with them, and the winds made it impossible to keep them in one position. Tucking her wings and facing the rain drenched, thunder-ridden sky, Tim steeled herself for the inevitable end.

Lavi, Krory, and Allen had followed the Science Department and Timcanpy to the training grounds and had squirreled themselves away on a dusty observation deck to watch what was sure to be an interesting show. Allen was there because he was worried about Timcanpy and he wanted to make sure that she was going to be okay, and Lavi was there purely for observational purposes, the Old Panda had put him up to it and it was bound to be more interesting than poking through dusty tomes with Jiji. Sure, he would have to record it, but it was still better than inhaling the copious amounts of dust and mold that would be awaiting him. Not that standing on the rickety observation deck that had no railings was really any better for his health. Krory, on the other hand, had nothing better to do, and he didn't want to be left alone so he followed the other two exorcists.

Watching Timcanpy try out her bullwhip was quite interesting, and slightly scary. Allen made a mental note to never give his former golem a reason to use it on him. It would be rather painful, he decided. Otherwise she was doing rather well and he felt a bit of pride that she was doing so well and handling the transition superbly. Timcanpy was certainly a different kind of soul than most.

After the practice with the akuma decoys, the three boys were surprised to see that the Science Department wanted to do a flying and dodging test. Lavi remembered when he had to do one too… he was knocked off of his hammer a few times, needless to say. Hammers necessarily aren't that mobile. He also remembered when Lenalee did hers, she was fantastic, graceful and smooth like always.

They watched Timcanpy ascend happily, she wasn't really expecting the first shot and they could tell. After she dodged a couple times though, Allen was happy to note that Timcanpy was doing a rather good job of staying away from the projectiles without truly running away. It was to his enormous surprise, however, when multiple disks were being sent out and she wasn't ever even close to being grazed. After all of disk launchers were on though, which had never happened before, did his jaw really drop. He heard Lavi whistle appreciatively next to him, his eyebrows raised and his green eye following Timcanpy's speeding form around the arena.

"Damn, Walker." He said, "That girl can _move_. I didn't think that was even possible. Jiji's gonna love this."

Allen had the decency not to blush, for Timcanpy wasn't actually a possession of his anymore… and besides, this was Lavi talking here. It was to be (very) expected. He nodded in agreement but frowned when he noticed the sky was beginning to become dark and turbulent. He pointed it out to the other boys, and they too became concerned. Timcanpy was flying too high to be heard from the ground, they would not be able to effectively convey the danger to her. Allen was really starting to get worried now.

"We need to go tell the Science Department so they can signal to Tim and get her on the ground again." Allen said urgently as he headed for the stairs. The others quickly followed suit and sprinted across the distance between the old observation deck and the arena.

Slightly breathless, Allen halted in front of a mildly surprised Reever.

"Yes?" he asked, nonplussed.

"The sky," Allen wheezed, "It's about to storm-got to get Tim down!" Reever's eyes widened.

"A valid point. Oi, Science crew! A storm's about to land, we need to get Timcanpy on the ground as soon as possible! Stop all machinery and…. Jump around or something. Yeah. Whatever works! We need to get her attention!" Allen looked at Reever quizzically. "What? Do you have a better plan?" Allen shrugged, then proceeded to run out into the arena a jump around.

A frantic scrambling commenced and soon all machines had been shut down, and the Science Department along with the boys were jumping up and down, yelling, and waving their arms about rather comically. Finally, they got Timcanpy's attention, and as soon as they did, a loud thunderclap filled the air, causing the ground to reverberate beneath their feet. Allen's heart clenched when he saw Timcanpy dive towards the earth, the rain creating a nimbus around her as it hit her body. At this rate, her wings would be drenched and made useless…

As the rain finally hit the earth, the winds began up in the atmosphere. Allen could hear Lavi swear colorfully as the first burst of wind hit Timcanpy, causing her to spin violently out of control. He could see her wings were almost a deep brown in color- a sure sign that the rain had permeated the feathers. A cold rush of adrenaline shot through him when he realized his guess was right- Tim could not use them to correct her flying position. Allen felt totally useless; he couldn't do anything to try and save her when she was so high off of the ground. He clenched his fists, thinking rapidly. Tim did not need to die; it would be a useless death for someone he highly valued as a companion.

Allen started when a sopping wet Lavi ran in front of him.

"You're gonna owe me big-time after this Moyashi—and if I get struck by lightning I reserve the rights 'ta kill you." And with that, Lavi sprinted off, the handle of _Tessui_ extending until it was long enough for him to jump on. Lavi was almost immediately blown off by the wind, but he was persistent and shot into the sky, racing the wind to Timcanpy to catch her before it was too late. Allen felt himself holding his breath, and the rest of the people still on the ground were doing the same.

Lavi had his eye almost closed, the force of how fast he was moving and the torrential rain made the droplets feel like bullets. He was freezing, and he hoped fervently he wouldn't get sick. He hated being sick. Timcanpy was directly above him now, and he realized the dilemma of her having wings. They were huge, wet, and probably really heavy. This was going to be interesting.

Lavi stopped _Tessui_ with a silent command and waited, praying to whatever God there might be that his legs were strong enough to hold on with the combined weight of Timcanpy, himself, and the wind ripping at his soaked clothing, threatening to pull him off as is. Finally, she was almost on top of him. Lavi grabbed onto her waist as she descended, hauling her weight over to him, crushing Tim to his chest. His arms burned with the effort, and _Tessui_ dipped and rocked unsteadily with the added weight. He grunted, trying to shift her around, but her wings were just everywhere and the wind wanted to take them with it. Finally settling her down, Lavi noticed Timcanpy was unconscious. He didn't blame her, he would be too. She had to be scared mindless.

Balanced precariously, Lavi began a slow descent back to the ground, but hurried up substantially as lightning struck nearby, the static electricity in the air running along his skin and causing his adrenaline to speed up.

Upon reaching the ground, he immediately handed Timcanpy off to the waiting Science Department and flopped on the ground, arms shaking and scared witless. That was one of the stupidest, scariest, exhausting, and bravest things he had ever done.

"Ne,Allen," he croaked as Allen came into view, leaning above him, "Next time it's your turn to save her. Jiji's gonna kill me… He kicks _hard…_"

**A/N:** ** To Lavi: he does. You have been warned young padawan. Heh heh. **

**Thank you so much to all who have reviewed so far! I can't believe people actually like to read this. :3 Give me the warm fuzzies, why dontcha. I'm so tickled pink! After these next two weeks you should see more updates after finals are over *dies*. I'm going to try hard to keep updates regular! I really am! And I'll eventually draw a picture of Timcanpy as a girl… I have no idea what to have her doing though. XD I have a couple in the works thought! Woot lol. As all writers must, I beg ye kind souls for feedback… I'll give you a cookie if you do. :3**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Oh my goodness you guys. I am a horrible, terrible, **_**awful**_** useless human being. Please don't kill me! /sob**

_As a general disclaimer that I have a rather bad time of forgetting, I do not own D. Gray-Man or any of its shiny characters. Goodness knows that if I did we would be in a world of trouble and hopeless fluff and mush in general. So this is possibly a good thing. Probably._

Timcanpy woke up in her bed again, wrapped up in many blankets and towels. She groaned. This needed to stop happening. She hoped it wouldn't end up being a daily occurrence. Life would be miserable. Timcanpy reviewed the past events silently, staring at the ceiling. She remembered falling and the feeling of fear and hopelessness that accompanied the harrowing descent. Timcanpy did not remember passing out, but it didn't particularly matter; what did matter was that someone, or many people, had saved her and she was in debt again. It had barely been a day since she had first been transformed. This had to stop as well; she needed to be more helpful and less of a burden. Timcanpy groaned again and thumped her head against the pillows. She felt useless.

A chuckle came from somewhere near the desk, surprising Timcanpy and causing her to jump. She sat up quickly, scooting back at the same time and wishing she hadn't moved so fast. She relaxed considerably when she saw that it was just Lavi.

"Oh, it's just you… Hello Lavi. May I ask what you are doing here? You gave me a quite the scare." Tim said, smiling ruefully. Lavi chuckled again, the skin around his one visible eye crinkling.

"Sorry about that. Allen was here originally, but he got hungry and I let him have a break. Komui has us here to make sure you're okay when you wake up. That was some trick you pulled on us there." Lavi replied, shaking his head and smiling.

"Oh…" Timcanpy mumbled, embarrassed. She was really making people too worried about her. She sighed. "I'm sorry for being so much of a burden to you guys, you've been really wonderful. If it's not too much to ask, my I enquire how my fall ended?"

"Sure. Allen, Krory, and I were bored so we decided to watch your testing on an old observation deck, and Allen noticed the storm coming in and wanted to warn you. Well, we all tried after informing the science team, but it was too late as you know. So after you lost flight control I jumped on _Tessui_ and caught you and brought you down, and the Science Team and Allen took it from there."

" You caught me? Why… thank you, Lavi. I'm in your debt now, you saved my life. I wish I knew of some way to repay you but I don't really know much…"

Lavi chuckled, a lopsided grin gracing his features.

. "What?" Tim asked, confused by his amusement.

"It's nothing."

"Liar."

Lavi chuckled again. "I was just thinking of something funny." Timcanpy flopped back down on the bed, an exasperated sigh escaping her lips. She could see Lavi smile out of the corner or her eye.

"You are hopeless." She said to the ceiling.

"Mmm, I would say not- just trying to keep you from embarrassment, is more like it." Timcanpy's head popped off her pillow. She gave him a scrutinizing stare.

"How do you mean?"

"Well," Lavi began slowly, "You asked if there was anything you could do to repay me, ne? Well, I was thinking that a date would be fine payment but—" Lavi was interrupted by a squawk from Tim "—I didn't think that you would take to it well." Tim became very flustered.

"It's just—well—oh dear." Timcanpy plopped her head into her palms. "Lavi," she began after a moment, " It's not that I don't like you as a friend, I just don't think that would be very appropriate on my part, being a strange conundrum at the moment stuck between a golem, a human, and a piece of Innocence, which could collapse at any moment, and you, being a bookman… And I really wouldn't know what to do on a date anyway. I may be human…ish, now, but I used to be just an observer. I'm still not used to all of these rules and whatnot." Lavi began to laugh. Tim peeked up at him between her fingers, confused. A slight blush was spreading across her cheeks.

"You are quite a piece of work." Lavi stated, holding his side, "Of course it would have been as friends. Bookman would have my skin anyway and call me a presumptuous brat. It would have just been a nice change of pace is all; something else to do. Don't worry about it—it was mostly just to see your reaction anyway." He grinned.

"You Bookmen are strange creatures."

"We aim for it!" he replied cheerfully, resting his hands behind his head and leaning up against the wall, a bemused expression on his face. Timcanpy 'hmphed' at him before busying herself with unwinding towels from her limbs, folding them and stacking them on the end of her bed. Checking to make extra-sure she had appropriate attire on (which she did- it was her day dress from before), Tim tossed the covers off of herself and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Leaning forward, she inwardly groaned. Her wings were massively sore, rather stiff, and still damp from the rain. Clutching the edge of the bed, Timcanpy stifled a growl as she stretched out the offended ligaments. Parts of her back hurt that she didn't even know were there. This was going to take some work to get her wings back in flying shape again.

As if reading her mind, Lavi quipped, "Wings protesting?" Tim groaned.

"Yes…."

Lavi chuckled.

"Might want to have someone help you stretch them out then, or they'll be sore for days!" Timcanpy raised a quizzical eyebrow at him.

"Do you have experience in the matter or something I should be aware of?" She asked smartly, but not completely unkindly. Lavi winked at her with his good eye, causing her to start and blush, which of course had been his objective.

"Maybe…" he said mysteriously, matching Timcanpy's arched eyebrow in turn. She snorted at his response, thoroughly convinced that he just liked to tease her for the heck of it. Lavi shrugged in a bored way before conceding and telling Tim what his 'experience in the matter' was.

"When I first learned to ride _Tessui_ I was sore all over for ages until Bookman told me to stretch and soak out the stiffness in my legs. That old panda has to know something helpful after all these years, ne?" He laughed again before continuing. "Ah well. Here comes Lenalee, she can help you do all that. I'm hungry and I think I'll join Allen in the dining hall…" And with that, Lavi stood up and sauntered out of her room before Tim even had a chance to register or even thank him for what he said. Remembering that Lavi mentioned Lenalee, Timcanpy turned towards the now open door expectantly, marveling at the fact that Lavi could hear Lenalee from that far away. Sure enough, Lenalee walked in, a cheery look on her face.

"Lenalee! I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!" Tim exclaimed happily, standing to meet the petite exorcist.

"It does feel like a while, now that you mention it! How are you doing, Tim? I heard about you accident from Johnny. I wish I was there to help, I was busy with Order paperwork Brother has managed to escape." Lenalee said, concern reflecting on her features. Tim didn't like worrying Lenalee; she had been so very helpful so far, so she smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry about it, you've done enough for me already. Besides, Lavi was there to save me this time. Next thing you know, I'll owe everyone at the Order some favor or another." Tim laughed lightheartedly, bringing a smile back to Lenalee's face. Lenalee laughed appreciatively, shifting the bundle of towels in her arms that Tim just now noticed. Her eyes narrowed a bit, and she glanced up at Lenalee questioningly.

"Um, what are those for?"

"Why, for your bath of course!" Lenalee admonished happily. "I am almost certain your wings are achy and you are a bit dirty from the akuma decoy explosions, so we might as well take out two problems at once and get you clean and not sore." Lenalee smiled happily, despite the sudden look of dread on Timcanpy's face.

"It sounds… delightful." Timcanpy could not hide the sound of dismay in her voice. She had had quite enough adventure for the day.

**A/N: I feel HORRIBLE for not updating sooner. This has just been sitting on my computer looking at me woefully and gathering cyberdust whilst I battle away at Life and her many, many (MANY) obstacles. I have had so much stuff happen in the past few months it has been a hectic, stressful blur. I am a terrible writer for making you all wait so long; it is completely not fair of me considering how marvelous you all have been reviewing this. Thank you so much for that, I REALLY appreciate it, and I love hearing your ideas so! Believe it or not, it influences the way the story goes. c: Thank you for waiting on my pathetic self, you all deserve many, many cookies and ice cream and other tasty things that I really shouldn't think about now because I am making myself hungry haha. I also apologize for the short chapter and the awkward cut off- things *should* go much smoother from here on out. Well, toodles for now loves! I really need to go to sleep… I have to get up at a ridiculously early hour for some more hectic fun. Whoopee haha. I'll do my very best to update soon, although I can't make any promises…. :C **

**I LOVE YOU GUYS. Peace out! Thank you!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Ta-da! Another chapter! I am not completely hopeless it seems…**

_DGM and all of its characters and places are not mine, I just play with them. _

Timcanpy trudged behind Lenalee rather despondently. She most certainly was _not_ looking forward to a bath. She had the misfortune of remembering forced dunkings by Allen when she was a golem due to her tendency to find mud puddles and the like and become filthy. Her wings already took forever to dry as it was…

Shrugging off her hopeless demeanor, Tim hurried up a bit to walk next to Lenalee, her bare feet smacking the floor purposely. Shifting the robe and slippers Lenalee had given to her to one hand, she brushed the loose strands of slightly damp hair out of her face before asking Lenalee where precisely they were going.

"Oh," Lenalee said cheerfully, "I found an old bath above the bathing rooms that will be big enough to accommodate your wings comfortably. I had a maintenance worker check it over for you to make sure it should still be functional, and he said it would be after a good scrubbing. So I had it cleaned and it is ready for your use!"

Timcanpy smiled at the happy girl. She worked so hard for the people she cared for, and was really sweet to be going through this much trouble to make sure Timcanpy was well looked after.

"Thank you Lenalee, you didn't have to. It's really kind of you to do this for me… I don't know how I can ever repay you for it, but I will find something!" Lenalee laughed, blushing a little at being complemented so.

"Don't worry about it," Lenalee said, brushing it off, "I know you would do the same thing for me. It's just nice to have another girl around, you know?"

Both girls laughed as they walked down the stone corridor to a flight of stairs, which lead to the standard bathing rooms, then up a floor to the room Timcanpy was to use. Cobwebs were rampant in the clearly unused hallway, but the floor had been swept recently. Older styled lights hung from the ceiling, also having just been cleaned, giving off a pale yellow light, dust motes floating gently in their glow. Few doors punctuated the hallway, and the ones that did were old and heavy looking. Lenalee lead Tim down the hallway to the third door on the right, pushing it open on recently oiled hinges.

As soon as Tim stepped in the room, she noticed the huge basin set in the floor that was clearly a bath of some sorts, but it was big enough to be bordering on a small pool. It had already been filled with water, which was steaming gently in the warm light given off of lamps set in the walls and ceiling. A sink was set in the far wall, as well as a stall that she assumed held a toilet. A shelving unit stood next to the basin, and it held bottles and washcloths and other necessities and items for bathing. A screen was set up in a corner, with a hanging rack for changing behind and hanging things on. To Timcanpy's immense surprise, Miranda was sitting on the edge of the basin, wrapped in a towel, bare feet dipping into the pool and waving about to stir the water. Lenalee noticed Tim's astonishment, and explained to her quickly that she had asked Miranda to help her stretch out Timcanpy's wings seeing as it would require two people to be able to do this properly.

"It is quite alright, isn't it?" Lenalee asked, looking worried.

"Oh, yes, it is quite fine! Don't fret about it, I really don't mind, I promise." Timcanpy smiled at Lenalee, placating her, before turning and greeting Miranda. "Hello, Miranda! It's been quite some time since I've seen you. How are you?"

Miranda looked terribly nervous as well as surprised with Tim's massive wings. She glanced at them uncertainly before looking back at Timcanpy's face.

"Um, h-hello Timcanpy. I am doing well, thank you. You seem… very different since I last saw you." She tittered nervously, wringing her hands. Tim remembered Miranda's panicky demeanor from when she was a golem, and noted to herself to be especially kind to the perpetually worried woman. She laughed a bit at Miranda's comment good-naturedly, it was certainly the truth.

"I have changed a bit since I last saw you indeed! Thank you for agreeing to help Lenalee with my wings, I appreciate it. They are quite sore and are in need of some attention unfortunately."

"You're quite w-welcome, anything I can do to help…"

Timcanpy smiled reassured way at Miranda before turning her attention to Lenalee, who told Tim to go and undress behind the screen and wrap up in a towel so they could start working out her wings. Tim obliged and walked over to the changing area and sat down on the chair behind the plain paneled wood to pull off her boots. Suddenly and completely unexpectedly, a wave of nervousness crashed over Timcanpy and obliterated any feelings of confidence she had. She had the strongest urge to run to Allen. Shaking slightly, she rested her head on the cool stone wall for a moment, trying to collect herself. She realized that she was having separation anxiety, which made sense in a way, but she didn't expect it to be so debilitating.

Sitting back up, she looked down and her hands, curled in her lap. Yes, she missed Allen and was worried about not hearing from him. She had an almost instinctual urge to run to him. The matter of the Bath was not helping either. She hated baths. While she had been considerably calm up to this point about it, she now felt a little panicked. The idea of bathing with other people seemed even less appealing than the actual ritual itself. The worst part was that she knew she couldn't get out of it.

Forcing herself to breathe calmly and attempt to clear her thoughts, Tim finished removing her boots and then worked on the rest of her clothes. Hanging them on the hooks in the wall, Timcanpy wrapped herself in a fluffy white towel carefully so she would not damage her feathers. Taking another deep breath and purging her mind of all thought, she plastered a calm and slightly happy look on her face. She hoped fervently that she didn't fail too miserably.

Walking across the cold floor in bare feet, Timcanpy approached the full steaming basin, which now had Miranda and Lenalee in it. Tim had been so preoccupied with her thoughts she hadn't even heard them get in, which made her feel a little silly since they were both laughing about something and the sound obviously echoed around the slightly cavernous room.

Reprimanding herself silently, Timcanpy smiled at the girls before gingerly sitting down on the edge of the basin, her sore muscles protesting quiet adamantly. Steam curled gently around her toes, then her ankles, and finally her calves as she eased her feet into the wonderfully warm water. Taking in another substantial lungful of air, and completely smooshing all thoughts away in the far reaches of her mind, Tim unwrapped the towel and set it aside, easing herself the rest of the way into the pool.

Any traces of worry, instinct, and stiffness melted away with the wash of water over her body. Timcanpy sighed mightily, relaxing completely, and leaned up against the edge of the bath.

_Maybe baths aren't so bad after all_ she thought to herself, sinking farther into the water. Tim allowed herself a moment to just enjoy the sensation before opening her eyes and paying attention to the rest of her surroundings.

"Tim, could you move to that side of the bath?" Lenalee asked cheerfully, "There is a bar set into the wall that you can hold onto so we don't pull you over while we work on your wings." Timcanpy smiled and obliged, walking through the swirling water, her hair trailing behind her, and positioned herself in front of the bar, hands grasped firmly around it.

While she had relaxed considerably, she was still not looking forward to getting her wings soaked. They were already slightly damp and uncomfortable, but completely wet feathers took ages to dry. Sighing, and trying not to tense up, Timcanpy gingerly lowered her wings into the warm water, grimacing when her feathers lifted slightly due to buoyancy, and stretched the skin a bit tight. She crouched down to completely submerse them, giving herself goosebumps with the sudden rush of warm water over her shoulders. Sighing again (she was doing that a lot lately) Tim indicated that she was ready for the stiff ligaments and tendons to be worked out by Lenalee and Miranda.

Still chatting happily and now including Timcanpy in the conversation, the girls moved in to relive Tim's muscles of her soreness.

Some time later, Timcanpy feeling particularly relaxed and now clean and smelling of lavender and vanilla, sat on the edge of the pool, facing the wall and wrapped in a fluffy white towels. Her wings still hung, floating slightly, in the water. She was waiting for Lenalee and Miranda to bring over a stack of towels so they could pat as much water out of them as possible before air-drying them over heating vents, which was actually Miranda's brilliant idea.

After the girls laid a line of towels side by side on the floor, giggling all the while, Timcanpy leaned forward and heaved her waterlogged wings out of the water, letting them drip over the basin. When they had stopped dripping sufficiently, Timcanpy basically flopped forward on her stomach, carried over by the weight of her wings, which she stretched out perpendicular to her sides. She laughed, thinking how silly she must look, and propped herself up on her elbows to watch Miranda work on her left wing while Lenalee was on the right.

"Lenalee," She said, looking at her out of the corner of her eye, "What does it feel like to fly for you?" Lenalee paused in her ministrations to think for a moment.

"Well, I suppose its like someone is pushing me by my feet, and I have to direct which way to go. If I want to go faster or anything, I just think of it really. I've never actually thought of how it works and whatnot. I just do it." Lenalee replied, smiling softly and looking thoughtful.

"F-Flying would scare me too much, I think." Miranda quipped, and all the girls laughed. That was probably very true.

Bathing now completed and dressed again in warm clothes, the girls headed down to the main hall to sit Timcanpy over the massive vent system that resided on one of the walls. As Tim clopped down the stairs, she played with the end of the braid that Miranda and put her hair up into, thinking how she needed to learn how to braid because it looked like a good deal of fun. She wondered what Allen's hair would look like braided briefly, then giggled at the thought.

The girls reached the main hall faster than Timcanpy thought they would get there, and set Tim up over the vents, fanning her wings slightly. She watched the proceedings with interest, and was happy to see that everyone seemed to be in a good mood even though it was storming outside.

Waving her feet about and leaning forward on her chair, Timcanpy craned her neck to try and see Lenalee and Miranda wait at the window for Jerry to hand them three sandwiches on separate plates with three bowls of slightly steaming soup on a tray. Her stomach rumbled in response and she laughed to herself and sat back, waiting for the two girls.

Timcanpy thanked them profusely when they arrived, and they began to eat. Rather suddenly, a very loud bang came from the kitchen, startling them all, and a cloud of white smoke puffed out of the door. A figure appeared in the cloud, coughing, laughing, and waving a hand to clear away the smoke, which turned out to be flour. When it all settled, it was obvious the person was Lavi even though he had a generous coating of white all over him. The girls looked at each other with arched eyebrows, and smiled when Jerry could be heard swearing vehemently in the kitchen. They watched in amusement as Jerry stomped out and shoved a broom at Lavi and gestured animatedly at the mess.

Around the same time all the commotion was going on, Allen and a few others walked into the hall. Tim's attention immediately zeroed in on Allen, and she waved to catch his attention. Catching sight of her, he smiled broadly and waved back, changing his direction to come over to where Timcanpy and the girls were. When he reached them, Tim gave him a bear of a hug. He laughed appreciatively and patted her awkwardly on the shoulder.

"How are you doing?" He asked kindly, sitting down next to Timcanpy when she scooted over.

"Much better. Lenalee and Miranda are miracle workers." Miranda blushed and Lenalee waved the compliment off, clearly pleased but embarrassed by the praise. Allen was about to say something in return when Komui burst into the hall, robes all a flutter and Reever following behind, looking a little breathless and a bit peeved.

"Exorcists, Exorcists!" He called loudly, "We have a new and urgent mission for you! Reever here will fill you in on it!" And with that he exited as promptly as he came.

Reever watched him bustle out, muttered something, then indicated that everyone needed to come over to him.

When everyone had formed a semicircle around him, he handed out folders to everyone but Timcanpy.

"Sorry Tim," He said to Timcanpy gently. "No mission for you this time. Maybe next time?" Timcanpy gave him a smile in response; she really hadn't expected to receive a mission yet. It was just going to be rather lonely without Allen and everyone else around.

Sighing, she said her goodbyes to everyone as they left the room, leaving it quite empty. Turning, she saw Lavi has only halfway finished cleaning up the flour. Thinking she had nothing better to do now that her wings were mostly dry, she picked up the broom and began to sweep in a steady rhythm, humming softly to herself.

**A/N: Whoo. Somehow I managed to crank out another chapter. Lol. Sorry for making you guys wait so long, but updates will be sporadic at best. My apologies….**

**Anyway. Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter! I appreciate it! And things should be starting to get a little more exciting from here on out- finally haha. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! YOU ALL ARE SO AWESOME.**

**Peace!**

**Oh, btw, on my profile are some links. One is a illustration of Fem!Human!Tim and the other is Timcanpy earrings I make if anyone is interested in looking. Thanks guys!**


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